---
title: "UEFA explain Aaron Wan-Bissaka handball penalty in Aston Villa win"
canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/10/aaron-wan-bissaka-handball-penalty-club-brugge/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "James Chettle"
section: "Aston Villa News"
published: "2026-09-10T05:20:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T10:49:09Z"
---

# UEFA explain Aaron Wan-Bissaka handball penalty in Aston Villa win

**UEFA has published its official explanation for the penalty Aaron Wan-Bissaka conceded during Aston Villa’s 3-2 Champions League victory over Club Brugge.**

Villa led 3-1 at half-time after goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendía and Nicolas Jackson, but Club Brugge were handed a route back into the game after the break.

Referee Sandro Schärer initially allowed play to continue before VAR intervened over a possible Wan-Bissaka handball.

UEFA has now confirmed exactly why the decision was overturned.

> Aaron Wan-Bissaka est prêt pour la Ligue des Champions, qu’il disputera avec Aston Villa cette saison 😁📸 [pic.twitter.com/EouyCMM4IA](https://t.co/EouyCMM4IA)
>
> — Actu Foot RD Congo 🇨🇩 (@ActuFootRDCongo) [September 7, 2026](https://x.com/ActuFootRDCongo/status/2097043635418141005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## UEFA explain Aston Villa penalty decision

The governing body’s refereeing experts said Villa’s No.29 touched the ball with his left hand while it was:

> “in an unnatural position and away from the body.”

UEFA categorised the 61st-minute incident as **“Decision overturned: Penalty awarded”** in its newly published Champions League VAR technical explanations.

Wan-Bissaka is Villa’s No.29, with the defender starting at right-back in Bruges after Matty Cash missed the trip through muscle soreness.

Nicolò Tresoldi converted the resulting penalty to reduce Villa’s advantage to 3-2. Unai Emery’s side then survived a difficult final half-hour to collect three points from their opening league-phase match.

Our [Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa match report](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/08/club-brugge-2-3-aston-villa-match-report/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) details how Villa held on after their impressive first-half performance.

## UEFA increasing VAR transparency

UEFA says it will publish selected technical explanations throughout the 2026/27 Champions League.

The explanations are prepared by refereeing experts on duty, with significant incidents potentially accompanied by images or video to clarify why a decision was reached.

That has now provided Villa supporters with a definitive explanation for the biggest refereeing decision of Tuesday’s game.

Wan-Bissaka was replaced by Lamare Bogarde seven minutes after the penalty, having started in place of the injured Cash.

Villa ultimately protected their advantage and opened their European campaign with a victory, but UEFA’s assessment confirms VAR was satisfied Wan-Bissaka’s arm position met the threshold for handball.

The full starting side can be found in our [Aston Villa confirmed XI against Club Brugge](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/08/aston-villa-confirmed-xi-club-brugge/?utm_source=chatgpt.com).